Cardinal: Pope OK’d spending 1M euros to free kidnapped nun
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis authorized spending up to 1 million euros to free a Colombian nun kidnapped by al-Qaida-linked militants in Mali, a cardinal testified Thursday, revealing previously secret papal approval to hire a British security firm to find the nun and secure her freedom.
Cardinal Angelo Becciu’s bombshell testimony could pose serious security implications for the Vatican and Catholic Church, since he provided evidence that the pope was apparently willing to pay ransom to Islamic militants to free a nun, who was eventually let go last year.
Ransom payments are rarely if ever confirmed, precisely to dissuade future kidnappings, and it’s not known how much — if any Vatican money — actually ended up in the hands of the militants. Prosecutors have accused a co-defendant of Cardinal Becciu of embezzling around half the amount on high-end luxury items for herself.
Cardinal Becciu, who was once one of Pope Francis’ top advisers as the No. 2 in the Vatican secretariat of state, had withheld his testimony from the Vatican tribunal for nearly two years as a matter of state and pontifical secret. But he spoke freely Thursday in his own defense after Pope Francis released him from the confidentiality requirement, providing the most anticipated testimony of the yearlong trial to date.
Cardinal Becciu is one of 10 people accused in the Vatican’s sprawling financial fraud trial, which originated in the Holy See’s 350 million euro investment in a London property and expanded to cover other alleged crimes. Prosecutors have accused the defendants of a host of crimes for allegedly fleecing the Holy See of millions of euros in fees, commissions and bad investments.
Cardinal Becciu, the lone cardinal on trial, is accused of embezzlement, abuse of office and witness tampering, all of which he denies. On Thursday, his testimony covered the charges concerning his relationship with an Italian selfstyled intelligence specialist, Cecilia Marogna.
Ms. Marogna has told Italian media that she helped negotiate the release of Catholic hostages in Africa on behalf of the Holy See. Vatican prosecutors accuse her of embezzling 575 million euros, citing bank records from her Slovenian holding company that show nine wire transfers from the Vatican in 2018-19.
Cardinal Becciu testified Thursday that he hired Ms. Marogna as an external security consultant, impressed by her grasp of geopolitical affairs and the trust she enjoyed of two of Italy’s top secret service officials, Generals Luciano Carta and Gianni Caravelli, who accompanied her to a meeting with Cardinal Becciu in the Vatican in October 2017.
Cardinal Becciu said he turned to Ms. Marogna for help following the February 2017 kidnapping of a Colombian nun, Sister Gloria Cecilia Narvaez, in Mali. She had been kidnapped by al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, which has bankrolled its insurgency by kidnapping Westerners.
Cardinal Becciu said he had heard from the Vatican’s nuncio in Colombia as well as other sisters from the nun’s religious order asking for help. He said he brought the matter to Pope Francis as well as Ms. Marogna, who he said advised him that she could work with a British intelligence firm, The Inkerman Group, to secure the nun’s release.
Cardinal Becciu testified that Pope Francis authorized him to proceed with the Inkerman operation, and forbade him from telling anyone else about it, including the Vatican’s own police chief. Pope Francis was concerned about the security and reputational implications if the news leaked, Cardinal Becciu said.
Sister Narvaez was released in October 2021, after more than four years in captivity.
Soon after, she met with Pope Francis at the Vatican.
Vatican prosecutors say they have evidence that the secretariat of state, in addition to the transfer of 575,000 euros sent to Ms. Marogna’s Slovenian accounts, sent an equivalent amount directly to a British bank account held by Inkerman.